1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more specifically to a technique for mounting integrated circuits to a circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that integrated circuit devices generate heat when operated. In some cases, the amount of heat generated is negligible. In others, it is necessary to make some provision for removing the generated heat from the device in order to avoid problems related to overheating.
One common method to remove generated heat is to provide adequate airflow around the package. For devices which generate larger amounts of heat, attachment to metal heat sinks may be required. Use of either technique requires a certain minimum amount of physical space for mounting the device in order to obtain the necessary heat transfer capacity.
With some system designs, use of large metallic heat sinks is not possible. This is often the case when a large number of integrated circuit devices are attached to a printed circuit board. If the system in which the circuit board is to be used has a minimum of available space for the board, it is often difficult to obtain enough airflow around the devices attached to it to ventilate them properly.
As is known in the art, overheating of the integrated circuit devices attached to circuit boards can adversely impact their proper operation. Temporary marginal or faulty operation is common when devices are overheated, and long term device degradation can occur with regular use at high temperatures.
It would be desirable to provide a technique for improving the heat dissipation of integrated circuit devices attached to a printed circuit board. Preferably, such technique would introduce only minimal complexity to the assembly process, and result in circuit boards which combine a low profile with good heat dissipation characteristics.